On Thursday, April 18, Classical Ballet Theatre (CBT) dancers enjoyed sharing their love of the performing arts with preschool students from Herndon Elementary Head Start, Montessori Country Day School, Reston Children's Center and St. Timothy's Episcopal Church. As part of their free outreach program, CBT performed Act I of their popular Cinderella production, which is packed with choreography, costumes, and good-natured humor. The students clapped for big leaps and twirls, laughed with stepsisters “Haughty” and “Spiteful,” and delighted in Cinderella's magical transformation into a princess dressed in a shimmering ball gown. Afterwards, enthusiastic audience members asked many questions and visited with cast members.
“Community outreach is an important part of what we do here at CBT,” said Cynthia Donavin, executive director of the not-for-profit performing arts organization. “Serving the community and promoting cultural education is a key aspect of our mission. We hope to share our love of the arts with our community, especially its youngest members. Children who are exposed to the arts at an early age have a greater likelihood of growing up to be adults who will appreciate the arts, thus enriching their own lives and the lives of those around them.”
If your preschool would like to be invited to a free outreach performance in the future, please send an email to cdonavin@cbtnva.org and provide your school name and contact information. CBT offers year-round study, summer intensives and camps, contemporary dance performances and full-length and children's series ballet productions. For more information, please visit CBT on Facebook or at http://www.cbtnva.org.